Newcastle United's new Head Coach Steve Bruce won his first game in charge against West Ham 1-0 in China before the club unveiled new record signing, striker Joelinton, who confidently strode into St. James' Park like he owned the place promising goals.
After resigning from Sheff Wednesday to take the reins at his boyhood club, Bruce said:
"I’m delighted and incredibly proud to be appointed as head coach of Newcastle United. This is my boyhood club and it was my dad’s club, so this is a very special moment for me and my family.
“There is a huge challenge ahead of us, but it’s one that my staff and I are ready for. We’ll roll our sleeves up and we’ll be giving it everything from the off to ensure supporters have a successful team that they can be proud of.”
The majority of Steve Bruce's success came as a goalscoring centre half at Man Utd under Sir Alex Ferguson and as Manager of Birmingham, Aston Villa, both Sheffields United and Wednesday, Wigan, Hull City as well as Newcastle's local rivals Sunderland, he has enjoyed 4 promotions to The Premier League and an FA Cup Final appearance.
Bruce takes charge of the club he supported as a boy, however, as an experienced boss of over 1000 games and has signed a 3-year deal to manage Newcastle, his biggest job and club to date, with the hope of being the man to end the club's silverware drought that reached its 50-year anniversary this year since the 1969 Fairs Cup win.
He was welcomed to the club by Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles and senior player Matt Ritchie and refereshingly, Bruce referred to the squad as being "littered with talented players" and he will look to add a strikeforce worth of the Geordie public onto the solid defensive and midfield foundations left by Rafa Benitez.
Gentleman Bruce, 58, was first offered the St. James' Park hotseat in 2004 when Sir Bobby Robson was sacked but turned it down not wanting to betray his good friend:
"I turned Newcastle down twice because the circumstances were not right,"
but the lure of St. James' Park was too much to resist this time around.
"Back a few years ago I regretted it ...So to be given the opportunity again, its something simply, I had to take it, I had to grasp it...I hope people will show the respect which you gain by getting a few results & doing the job but hopefully that'll go hand in hand.."
An hour after Bruce's appointment, a select Newcastle XI managed by U23 Coach Ben Dawson lost 4-0 in The Asia Premier League trophy to a Wolves side at a far more advanced stage of pre-season ahead of their Europa League campaign that kicks off next week yet Bruce realises the size of the challenge at Newcastle.
Newcastle face Wolves in their 10th game of the season at St. James' Park on Saturday, October 22nd and the 10-game mark is usually a one at which managers are judged.
And Newcastle bounced back in their 2nd game of the competition with a 1-0 win against West Ham United thanks to this excellently-taken goal by Yoshinori Muto as JonJo Shelvey pulled the strings and Sean Longstaff made his long-awaited return to first team action alongside young brother Matty who made his senior NUFC debut:
Steve Bruce's Black and White Army will be led by new club record signing Joelinton, a 22-year old 6ft 1in former Brazil U17 striker after he finalised his move from German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.
Joelinton arrives on Tyneside with a big reputation - for goals and an all-action style that saw him commit the most fouls by a young player in Germany so will have no problem adapting to the more physical and higher octane Premier League.
Goals-wise, 36 in 135 games at this stage in a career that has already seen him experience the Italian Serie A with Sport Recife and both the German and Austrian Bundlesligas with Hoffenheim and SK Rapid Weim is comparable with that of a young Alan Shearer when he moved to Blackrburn having notched 43 in 158 for Southampton.
Last season, Joelinton scored 11 goals in 33 games for Hoffenheim and set up a further 9 goals and Geordie fans can look forward to a striker who has been likened to Liverpool's Brazilian capture from the Bundesliga, Robert Firmino, and is fast, strong, good in the air and can dribble and score goals with both feet.
With Miguel Almiron already at Newcastle and showing signs of his quality since January and Steve Bruce liking to play two strikers up front, The Magpies are rumoured to have interest in both Nice winger Allen Saint-Maximin and Southampton's Charlie Austin which would make for an exciting forward line at St. James' Park next season.
Perhaps Bruce's biggest job is persuading Newcastle fans, who were rather enamoured to say the least with outgoing manager Rafa Benitez, to give him a chance but the arrival of Joelinton and more signings in the pipeline will go a long way in demonstrating that there is life after the Spaniard and that the future of the club is in good Geordie hands.
As Bruce, a product of the famed Wallsend Boys Club, has famously said, "You're only as good as you're strikers" so expect more to follow Joelinton into St. James' Park as Newcastle switch to attack mode and go on the hunt for goals and glory again.
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